Dear Dr Brown,

Thank you very much for submitting your Research Article entitled 'Notch pathway mutants do not equivalently perturb mouse embryonic retinal development' to PLOS Genetics.

The manuscript was fully evaluated at the editorial level and by independent peer reviewers. The reviewers appreciated the attention to an important problem, but raised some substantial concerns about the current manuscript. Based on the reviews, we will not be able to accept this version of the manuscript, but we would be willing to review a much-revised version. We cannot, of course, promise publication at that time.

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We are sorry that we cannot be more positive about your manuscript at this stage. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions.

Yours sincerely,

Seth Blackshaw

Guest Editor

PLOS Genetics

Gregory Barsh

Editor-in-Chief

PLOS Genetics

This manuscript has now been reviewed by three experts in the field. All consider the study to be both important for the field of early development and well-executed overall. However, all three also agree that the data presented needs quantifying, along with appropriate statistical analysis. Where practical (i.e. with <3 months additional work), these should be included. All reviewers likewise agree that the title should be changed to better reflect the analysis of the differential contributions of Rbpj and Hes signaling, which is the core of the study. While the manuscript is generally well-written, some additional background for readers not working directly on the (highly complex) details of Notch signaling, and well as some reorganization of the figures to better reflect the narrative flow, would also be desirable.